


Wake Me Up When It's All Over

by KnickKat



Category: Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (Webseries)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Human, Anxiety, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, Foster Care, Foster Parents, Insomnia, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Philophobia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Secret Crush, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2020-04-19 17:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19137583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnickKat/pseuds/KnickKat
Summary: So wake me up when it’s all overWhen I’m wiser and I’m olderAll this time I was finding myselfAnd I didn’t know I was lost.~"Wake Me Up"; Avicii feat. Aloe BlaccIt was a case that stumped officers for years. Three children disappeared from the face of the Earth without a trace. Once they have been found, they were in the worst state imaginable. Malnourished, poor blood circulation, and traumatized in the mind.Now, as their conditions improve over time, they must learn to grow up to the age they are now and avoid being mentally scarred children forever.





	1. Prologue

This was it. This was the last place they hadn't checked. An old shed in the countryside, appearance-wise, it was old yet sturdy. The doors were made of metal, while a wooden structure held the place up. Pounding her fist against the door, she kept her gun close to her.

"Police!" She yelled near as loud as she could. "Open this door in the name of the law!" No answer. It was almost as if they reached a dead end. A dead end in what they all ask?

Six years ago, three young boys went missing. Twelve-year-old Harry Makarónia, eleven-year-old Robin Quill, and ten-year-old Doi (or as his friends called him "Manny") Gribbleston. Supposedly, by what their parents say, Harry and Robin had gone to babysit Manny while his father went to work, and never returned home. The word quickly got out, and many people suspected they either ran away or were murdered. These theories made no sense, as first, three children wandering on their own were bound to be found by someone, and second, no reports of bodies were ever found.

This case stumped police for over six years, and many wanted to give the case up. One officer, however, wouldn't let this go no matter what.

Her fist repeatedly collided with the door. Her dark brown hair tied tightly into a bun that was hidden under her hat; the bullet-proof vest squeezing her uniform to her chest, and boots were stained with the mud and trash from the ground. She stopped for a few seconds, grinding her teeth as no-one bothered to open the door. Knowing that if they left, they would miss their chance at finding this bastard; she turned her head over her shoulder.

"Johnson." A rather bulky-built man raised his head slightly at the call of his voice. He stepped forward to his boss, not needing an explanation.

Sending her orders to three of the other officers with her; she directed them to move around the building. Turning her head back to Johnson, she noticed the uncountable number of dents that were left on the door by his boot. Quickly retrieving her walkie-talkie, she heard the officers report nothing suspicious around the area.

"Good, continue searching. We're almost in."

With that last statement, a loud crashing sound could be heard, as the metal door was now flung open. Wasting no time, she aimed her gun forward and quickly stepped past her co-worker.

What she saw nearly stopped her heart. There they lay; the three missing children, strapped to thick, metal tables and unconscious to the point of appearing dead.

In order, Harry laid on the far left, his hair much longer and a disheveled mess; Robin was to her right, seeming extremely ill, his face was stained with small smudges of vomit and his skin had the slightest tone of green in it; finally, Manny at the far right, his eyes overlapped with dry tears and sleep, which gave almost the appearance that they were glued shut. A similarity between them all is that they were all malnourished; not technically near anorexic, but very improperly fed, it also didn't help that their clothes were ripped and squeezing into their bodies, which had quite obviously affected the circulation of their blood.

A machine was built just above their heads, highlighting rather gruesome events. Robin being eaten by a giant can, which caused the ill boy to near immediately throw up drops of stomach bile; Manny going through unending barrages of singing objects while crying, which caused loud, heart-wrenching whimpers to emit; and Harry attempting to stop all of this, causing panicked gasps and pants from the red-head as he thrashed his head from side to side.

Grabbing her walkie-talkie, she urgently called her team. "We found the kids, we need an ambulance right now!"

Almost directly after her demand, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. The figure stood there, just staring at Johnson and her, the most intimidating look on his face.

"Freeze!" Johnson roared, raising his gun as he swiftly turned around. The figure stood still, no response anywhere in his posture. Raising her gun, she fired a glare as if she knew perfectly that this was the suspect.

" _Roy Gribbleston. You'll have to come to us_."


	2. Breaking Down

The three boys were carefully brought onto the ambulances set outside the shed. Oxygen masks were on their faces, and each stretcher had about three paramedics at the hand.

She harshly pushed Roy into the cop car, his hands bounded by the handcuffs. He said nothing and didn't bother to look at her, he just continued staring in front of him, making her growl. He did not put up any sort of fight when the police had bound him, he just sort of went with it. It took every bit of strength in her not to beat him to a pulp right then and there. If things went her way, Roy would be buried in the shallowest grave imaginable.

"Kat."

Kat turned her head at the call of her name, "What is it, Johnson?"

The man removed his hat, messing around with his short pale blonde hair. It was bleached, mostly because he had recently lost a bet with his friends and had to dye it for a few months.

Returning his hat to its original spot, Johnson rubbed his face. "Boss says she wants to talk to you." 

Kat sighed irritably, the last thing that she wanted at this moment was to talk to the boss. She didn't care if it was praise or a lecture, she wanted to just go home and try and regain the hours of sleep she had abandoned for years. 

But still, she knew, if the boss didn't get what she wants, then all hell would break loose. "Sure, fine. Call her up."

Retrieving his walkie-talkie, Johnson informed the person on the other side of Kat's consent to speak. The blonde handed the brunette his walkie-talkie, to which she begrudgingly, placed near her ear.

"Lieutenant, I heard your reckless dumbass got lucky today."

Kat exhaled softly through her nose at her boss's voice. Her boss was always blunt and in your face, and the only thing you could do was just go with it. Questioning her was a bad idea, no matter the case.

"Yes, ma'am. God truly blessed us today." Kat smiled slightly, only for the action to be brushed aside.

"Well, whatever brought this miracle to the light, your work ain't over yet. We need updates on the boys' home life. See if whoever will be watching them is up to… well, to put it loosely, trying to get things back to normal with them."

That statement made Kat's stomach churn slightly. There wasn't much she knew about the families of Robin and Harry, the furthest she knew was mainly in summaries. 

Both of Robin's parents were somewhere in the profession of teaching; his mother is a high school teacher, and his father is a retired college professor. They seemed like nice people, with high reputations in the places that worked in.

Meanwhile with Harry's home life… Well, it was less exciting to think about. All that Kat knew was that Harry would live with his current single mother. It had been confirmed that the father had left due to the stress of possibly never seeing his son again and was later found dead by suicide. Kat felt pity for the family, this could never be an easy thing to go through.

Regardless, it seemed as though their home lives were stable enough to bear. As an officer, Kat was trained to pick up on signs of abuse, so she would not allow things to slip through her fingers. Not again, anyway. Coming to this conclusion, Kat forced a mantra to raid her mind.

' _It will be okay. It will be okay. It will be okay_.'

“Lieutenant? Lieutenant~? Katherine? Damn it, officer, I’m talking to you!”

Allowing herself from her train of thought, Kat answered her boss’ demands. “Yes… Yes, ma’am. I can do that for you.” Kat stuttered.

“Good. Now go on with the kids to the hospital, work on the order there, make it easier on you.”

Kat sighed, the knot in her stomach unwinding slightly. She truly wanted nothing more than to check on these boys, watch over them to make sure they're all right. Holding back the hurricane of emotions, she smiled.

“Thank you, ma’am. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me, and I’m sure it will mean a lot to the boys, so-” The boss hung up. Kat stared at the walkie-talkie incredulously, before tossing it back to Johnson who, though shocked, caught it.

“We’re following them,” Kat ordered, opening the door of the squad car. Johnson didn’t say anything, he knew it wasn’t a good idea to argue with the Lieutenant. She was just as, if not more stubborn than the boss wishes she could be. Climbing in himself, the car quickly caught up to the ambulance travelling away.

* * *

Stepping into the hospital, Kat was hit with the smell of sanitizer and death. She never truly enjoyed the atmosphere of hospitals, they made the morgues she had to visit look welcoming. However, it could be worse. It could be like the asylums she's seen. But now was not the time for that. She had more important things to care about.

She stomped her way to the front desk, the poor Latina woman in front of her shrinking in fear of the dominant aura she presented. Presenting the golden badge from her pocket, Kat spoke.

“We’re here to check on the boys found in the recent missing children’s case. My name is Lieutenant Katherine W-”

“Oh!” The nurse had cut her off, throwing her hands up as if in relief. She shuffled past her desk towards the two officers. “Yes, yes! I was told you would arrive! Come, come! They are this way!”

The nurse practically shoved Kat forward throughout the hall, taking the officer aback. Kat only got the chance to look at her nametag, “ _Miss Andrea_ ”. 

"Ah, y-yes well." Kat cleared her throat, adjusting her shirt. "I take it it's not a pretty sight to see?"

Miss Andrea sighed, raising her hands to her chest. "Oh yes," She shook her head, eyes closed. " _Pobrecitos_. I can't imagine what it must have been like for them all those years. Right now, we have them on some IV fluids just to have something in their little stomachs. We suspect they were fed enough portions to keep them alive, but still not enough to be healthy. We've had to arrange some more tests with Robin, it seems he may have a disruption in his digestive system, which is causing significant levels of vomiting or spitting up. Regardless, they all are very lucky. Had they remained there any longer than they had..." She trailed off, noting Kat's missing presence in her rambling.

Kat had stopped dead in her tracks, head facing the floor, fists clenched. Miss Andrea's final words repeated in her mind, taunting her anxieties.

_"Had they remained there any longer than they had... Had they remained there any longer than they had... Had they remained there any longer than they had..."_

Kat was on the verge of hyperventilating, relentlessly abusing herself mentally. She felt like a fool, letting those boys suffer for as long as they had.

She felt Johnson's hand on her back, not rubbing or moving, simply alerting her of his presence. "Kat, calm down. Look, we're right there, the boys are right in this room. Okay?"

Kat didn’t answer him, she simply sighed a shaky breath and continued forward.

The door that presented itself make Kat’s heart flutter with the slightest glimpse of hope. Floor #19, Hall #06, Room #55. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, maybe they were awake already. Maybe she would be able to keep herself together once the door opened.

She was wrong.

Upon entering the room, Kat was immediately on the verge of tears. It took every bit of her strength to keep her professional composure and not break down. 

The boys were in hospital beds, looking somewhat better than how they did when the authorities had found them. 

Harry was closest to the door, and his hair was now somewhat cleaner, now reaching past his elbows. Though still sleeping with a disturbed expression on his face and made some noises occasionally, he was probably the calmest out of the boys.

Robin was in the center of the room, and still the most dishevelled. His skin still had the disturbing green undertone to it, confirming Miss Andrea’s suspicions. While Kat and Johnson subconsciously analyzed the boy’s condition, Robin went into a severe coughing fit, shocking the two officers. His coughs were wet and sounded extremely painful. Miss Andrea rushed over to him, moving his position on the bed so he could breathe, and gently rubbed circles into his back while cooing to him in Spanish.

“ _Esta bien bebe. Sé que duele, pero está bien._ ”

Letting the nurse do her thing, Kat turned her head to look at the final bed.

Manny. Little Manny was the quietest among them, though still not calm. Every minute or so, his head would thrash back and forth as if in a horrific nightmare. His breathing, though quiet from a distance, became more and more jagged and sharp as one got closer. He looked like he was suffering in his mind, to say the least.

Kat slowly walked towards Manny’s bed, almost as if she’d wake him with her footsteps alone. She quietly pulled a chair up to his bedside and sat down next to him. She was now seconds away from completely falling apart, with shaky breaths and shivers being visible to all.

Johnson noticed Kat’s emotional state and glanced at Miss Andrea, who had finally calmed Robin’s coughing before laying him back down. Johnson approached the nurse and whispered something in her ear. Miss Andrea looked towards Kat and a heartbroken look came to her face.

“I see that you have a… special attachment to Doi,” The nurse said calmly. Kat didn’t answer, she simply nodded.

Miss Andrea sighed softly, “Would you… like to be alone with the boys right now?”

Kat nodded again, her face contorting even more to hide the tears that threatened to escape.

“Well, you just call if you need anything or something is wrong. Okay, _querida_?”

Again, Kat nodded. Miss Andrea and Johnson left the room without a word, with only Johnson turning back to say, “It’s not your fault.”

Once the door closed, everything came bursting through. Kat began to sob uncontrollably and threw her head into her arms as she leaned over Manny’s bed. All the years of grief and pain came to a head through her loud and heartbreaking wails.

Through her blubbers, Kat managed to get a few words out.

“Manny… I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry, honey. I wish I did more, I wish I was in this bed right now, taking your place. I’m sorry, Manny.”

Through the door, Johnson and Miss Andrea stood by and watched Kat’s breakdown through the window. Johnson removed his hat in respect, while Miss Andrea appeared to be on the verge of tears herself.

“Oh, poor girl. It’s always so awful to see your baby like this,” She lamented.

“Manny’s not her kid,” Johnson said bluntly. The nurse turned to him, curious.

Johnson sighed, “Kat’s a friend of his mother. She used to babysit him from the day he was born. Still… she’s been beating herself up for years since he disappeared. This, right here,” Johnson waved his hand to accentuate Kat’s emotional state, “Is just scratching the surface of what she did to herself.”

Miss Andrea's eye's widened, and she looked back at Kat, who was now clutching Manny's hand and begging him to forgive her.

Both the nurse and the cop remained quiet for the next few minutes, watching the complete breakdown of a young woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rough translation notes (all in spanish):
> 
> "Pobrecitos" = "Poor things"  
> "Esta bien bebe. Sé que duele, pero está bien." = "It's okay, baby. I know it hurts, but it's okay."  
> "Querida" = "Darling"


End file.
